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Two genuine partners in development
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THE past 18 years of China-Africa relations have made some people in the Western world uneasy as they churn out various accusations against the Asian country’s role in the continent.
Some Western media and politicians have repeatedly labeled China as an economic predator in Africa, claiming that China pillages natural resources, steals local jobs, wreaks havoc on the environment and has dragged the vast continent into a debt crisis.
While such claims have gained traction among those who have little knowledge of and ground experience in Africa, they are as false as they are sensational.
Facts speak louder than words, and the facts show that China is not an economic predator but rather a true development partner for African countries.
There is no denying that raw materials have been part of China-Africa trade, but overlooked is the fact that Africa has also benefited from trade with China as Africans gain access to affordable manufactured goods.
Furthermore, thanks to Chinese investment and technology transfers, many African countries are now on a solid path of industrialization and agricultural modernization.
China, now the largest infrastructure investor in Africa, has helped build roads and railways, water dams and power plants, and bridges and telecom towers across the continent.
On jobs, it is absolute conjecture to claim that China’s growing presence in Africa has cost locals their jobs.
Research by leading global organizations shows the opposite. A 2017 field study by McKinsey found that in some 1,000 Chinese companies operating in eight African countries, 89 percent of the employees were local.
Leading global accounting firm EY said in a report last year that Chinese investment in Africa created more than three times the number of local jobs than that of the United States in 2016 alone.
Since the introduction of the “10 cooperation plans” at the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2015, Chinese companies have created some 900,000 jobs in Africa and provided technical or vocational training for over 200,000 people in Africa.
On alleged environmental irresponsibility, it is true that some Chinese-built roads and railways run through natural parks. But it does not mean China has no regard for wildlife.
For example, the addition of animal corridors along the jointly-built Mombasa-Nairobi railway has garnered praise from local residents and activists.
Providing access to clean drinking water is another example of cooperation. Besides drilling waterholes and building conservation facilities, Chinese companies have begun building water processing factories in Africa.
Setting a “debt trap” for African countries is yet another irrational claim made against China.
Data from the China Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University shows that China has provided roughly US$114 billion in loans to Africa from 2000 to 2016, which accounts for 1.8 percent of Africa’s total external debt.
Chinese loans to Africa have a lower interest rate and longer repayment period compared to the market average, and these concessional loans are primarily used to build infrastructure.
All in all, China values its relations with Africa and is walking the talk on win-win cooperation. With ties between the two sides set to strengthen in the coming years, exaggerated and fabricated claims intended to tarnish China’s image in Africa will become a thing of the past.
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